Madeira Island Open: Jean Van de Velde savoured a rare victory on the European Tour yesterday by winning the Madeira Island Open.
But the man who famously threw away the British Open at Carnoustie in 1999 made it hard for himself, shooting a double-bogey six at the last after a poor chip from the back of the green.
Van de Velde finished the day on 68 and a four-round total of 273, 15 under, with Lee Slattery one shot back after a superb 66.
The 39-year-old Frenchman Van de Velde insisted he had remained calm at the final hole.
"My nerves were not playing up. That's the thing with getting older," he said. "I made the walk up the last an interesting one, that's all.
"I hit my three-wood into the rough and then found the nastiest patch of grass on the course at the back of the green.
"The only problem was if I duffed my shot again, but that was not going to happen.
"What happened many years ago (at Carnoustie) was freak circumstances. That kind of thing is not going to happen twice."
Van de Velde's last victory on the European Tour came in the 1993 Roma Masters. Since then he has struggled for form and fitness, hampered by a knee injury.
But the overnight leader set a fierce early pace yesterday, going out in 31 with six birdies and one bogey and was never caught.
"I could not have dreamt of making a better start to the year. My life has been blessed in the past few months."
Damien McGrane finished in 10th place on his own after a closing 72 left him on eight under par. He earned €14,000 for his efforts.
Gary Murphy had a poor weekend, shooting a pair of 74s to finish near the bottom of the field. That was worth just under €2,000.
Slattery edged out the Spaniard Pedro Linhart for runners-up spot after holing a long birdie putt at the last.
It was just the boost Slattery needed following a difficult time which saw him lose his card almost as quickly as he gained it.
He stormed to the Challenge Tour title in 2004, but he found it difficult at a higher level last year and is working his way back.
Slattery said: "This is just what I need to get my confidence up.
"I am also made up for my mum and dad. They have given me a lot of good advice."
MADEIRA ISLAND OPEN
(at Santo da Serra, Portugal)
Final scores (British unless stated, par 72): 273 - Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 69 65 71 68. 274 - Lee Slattery 74 68 66 66. 275 - Pedro Linhart (Spa) 71 67 69 68. 276 - Simon Wakefield 72 68 68 68. 278 - Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 74 69 71 64, Richard Finch 70 69 72 67. 279 - David Griffiths 72 69 71 67, Tom Whitehouse 73 65 71 70, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 66 68 74 71. 280 - Damien McGrane (Ire) 68 69 71 72. 281 - Warren Abery (Rsa) 69 70 74 68, Christian Cevaer (Fra) 74 69 68 70, Ian Garbutt 72 69 70 70. 281 - Garry Houston 68 69 72 72. 282 - Marcus Higley 72 69 71 70, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 70 73 69 70. 283 - Mark Roe 74 68 73 68, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 73 69 71, Fredrik Andersson (Swe) 76 67 74 66, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 70 73 67 73. 284 - David Lynn 72 68 74 70, Oliver Wilson 71 71 74 68, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 73 68 72 71, Iain Pyman 71 69 74 70, Fredrik Henge (Swe) 68 75 75 66, Gary Orr 74 68 69 73, Magnus Persson (Swe) 73 69 67 75. 285 - Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 74 68 73 70, Mark Foster 69 73 73,70, Bradley Dredge 72 65 77 71, Paul Lawrie 68 69 77 71, Andrew Coltart 75 66 75 69, Steven O'Hara 72 71 76 66, Alistair Forsyth 72 70 69 74, Tiago Cruz (Por) 71 71 69 74. 286 - Ben Mason 69 73 71 73, Ariel Canete (Arg) 71 69 72 74, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 72 72 73 69, Oliver Whiteley 70 73 68 75, John Bickerton 74 70 75 67. 287 - Gordon Brand jnr 71 72 72 72, Santiago Luna (Spa) 73 71 72 71, Johan Axgren (Swe) 70 70 71 76, Stephen Gallacher 69 70 71 77. 288 - Christian Nilsson (Swe) 75 67 74 72, Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 71 71 74 72, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 70 74 72 72, Peter Baker 71 73 74 70, Sam Little 75 69 75 69, Ross Fisher 70 74 76 68. 289 - Sam Walker 69 69 76 75, Francisco Valera (Spa) 73 68 77 71, Wilhelm Schauman (Swe) 73 68 71 77. 290 - Gareth Davies 73 71 71 75, Gary Emerson 68 75 76 71, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 72 69 78 71, Jose Filipe-Lima (Por) 72 72 75 71, David Patrick 73 71 78 68. 291 - David Dixon 72 72 75 72, Simon Khan 76 68 76 7. 292 - Gary Murphy (Ire) 69 75 74 74, Raymond Russell 76 67 76 73. 294 - Anders Hansen (Den) 71 73 71 79. 295 - Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 70 67 81 77, Stuart Little 74 70 74 77. 296 - Ricardo Santos 72 71 77 76. Disq: Fredrik Widmark (Swe).
